30 November 2018
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LOUGHTON RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION LRA NEWS Local Libraries consultation – please give your views here. Essex County Council has announced a review of library services which could lead to Debden, Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill and North Weald libraries closing, and Waltham Abbey, Epping and Chipping Ongar having their hours significantly cut and kept open with volunteer support. Even Loughton Library (Traps Hill) - considered the district's hub - could have its hours reduced. In order to get a discussion at the next Full County Council meeting on December 11th, LRA County Cllr Chris Pond is leading a motion of no confidence in Essex County Council leader David Finch and Customer & Corporate cabinet member Susan Barker over these proposals. Chris comments: "Libraries are much more than books. They are an integral part of the social and cultural fabric of Epping Forest. This administration should be fostering libraries for all our futures not reducing provision from comprehensive to inadequate at a stroke." Library Consultation drop-in session at Loughton Library Tuesday 04 December 11am to 1pm - please go along (Debden Library, Tuesday 12 February 2 - 4pm – we’ll put in a reminder nearer the time) Oakwood Hill estate. 5 years after LRA persuaded the District Council to allocate funds to the estate, the footpaths have been slurry-sealed and we hoped that was the end of the project. However, LRA Cllr Chris Roberts has been following up residents’ complaints about the standard of some of the workmanship, and the Council are taking this up with their contractors. High Road streetlights. LRA Cllr Chris Pond reported half-a-dozen lights out-of-action recently – Highways have promised action within 3-4 weeks on all except one where a spare part is needed (delay unknown). Loughton Station/Sainsbury’s car-park entrance. Last year I saw several near-accidents caused by drivers thoughtlessly stopping on the joint approach road to pick up or let out passengers, particularly children and particularly in the dark or wet. I asked NCP what could be done, and at a meeting on-site we agreed that yellow cross-hatching – to suggest No Parking – would help. There then followed a long process while my NCP contact got the necessary agreements and funding. I’m pleased to see that the cross-hatching is now in place – so please don’t stop on it (use the 20-minute drop-off area to the left, or a safe space in Sainsbury’s car- park to the right). Rubbish on Great Eastern Path. LRA Cllrs Mark Dalton and david Wixley have been pressing the District Council to sort out the litter problem, partly caused by the bins over-flowing. The Council have now said they’ll get Biffa to empty the bins every day. [Please report litter problems to [email protected] ] Nitrous oxide canisters. We get complaints from residents about the litter problem these can create (contact [email protected] or, in Epping Forest, [email protected]). However, there is a more serious problem, as inhaling the gas risks brain damage as the brain can be deprived of oxygen. The canisters are classed as a “legal high” and are ordered over the internet so it is the suppliers of the canisters that need to be targeted. LRA Cllr David Wixley has been discussing the problem with the Epping Forest Youth Council (see the item on page 10 of Loughton Town Council’s Winter edition of “Think Loughton”, recently delivered to homes in Loughton, about the work that the Youth Council is doing regarding drugs and young people with information about the nitrous oxide cylinders). District Local Plan. Details of next year’s hearings to be held on the Local Plan have been announced. LRA and others will be appearing at the hearings to challenge the Council’s proposal to build on Jesse Green and various other aspects of the Plan. 76 Algers Road planning application for 7 flats (corner Lower Park Road) The LRA Plans Group, Loughton Town Council and some local residents have objected to this proposal as an overdevelopment of the site which would significantly change the nature of the area, change the street scene and set a harmful precedent in an area where there are only single dwelling houses (and no flats). There are also concerns about the effect on neighbouring properties and the lack of adequate amenity space or off-road parking spaces. (EPF/2881/18) LOCAL NEWS FOR LOCAL EVENTS SEE SEPARATE EMAIL Check ahead for events in red, which need to be booked in advance! FOR LOCAL LEISURE ORGANISATIONS SEE http://tinyurl.com/pbel693 Loughton’s Christmas lights. Loughton Town Council took quick action when their distinctive new Christmas lighting scheme turned out to risk creating a health hazard. The contractors had installed flickering lights instead of non-flickering ones - they apologised and have modified the lights; they should also have made sure they’re all set to 24-hour illumination (some were on mis-set time-clocks). By now The Broadway, the High Road and Old Station Road should be resplendent once more. GROW project and Pyrles Lane allotments: latest news – see here (items 113.1.1.3 and 113.1.2) 87 bus service. The Town Council is writing to Arriva to express concern that this service is not well used, and usage should increase if timetables are provided at bus stops, including those in Langston Road, and the route number was displayed on the bus stop flags. NHS How’s your ambulance service doing? And what are their plans for the winter peak? See here. Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow: A&E Pressure & Seasonal Planning: see here Epping Forest Forest Focus magazine – Winter edition now available here. District Council news Park for free in any District Council owned car park on weekends from Saturday 1 December until Sunday 30 December planned Council charges for services 2019/20 – see here Loughton Leisure Centre is benefitting from the new gym extension and usage is much increased as a result. A noise complaint from a neighbouring property has largely been resolved (although some problems persist and LRA Cllr Rose Brookes has been trying to help get them sorted out) Landmark Building, The Broadway. The Council reports that tenants have now been secured for all of the retail units and were in the process of submitting the necessary planning and building regulation applications. 69 Church Hill: a decision on the planning application (EPF/2040/18) to demolish the existing bungalow and replace it with a block of 10 apartments was deferred by the planning committee, pending a site visit. The LRA Plans group had objected to this proposal as out-of-character with its surroundings, and for other reasons. Street trees: the Council will be replacing dead or missing trees over the winter, including the ones outside 50 Church Hill and 7 Eleven Acre Rise. [If you know of a dead or missing tree, please let the Council know at [email protected] ] Loughton Town Council news New salt/grit bin at the junction of Mannock Drive and Goldingham Avenue. The Town Council is supporting a request This year’s Christmas Card from residents to the Local Highways Panel for a bin as this is Competition. Come and view used as a quicker route to schools. the fantastic display of cards by Loughton Cemetery – recent memorial safety testing exercise. Loughton children & residents 257 headstones and tall memorials were checked; 18 had had to be picked by our Loughton Town laid flat and 2 discreetly staked and banded. The net cost of this Council Mayor & Deputy. work had been £1,158.15. The Town Council is writing to the last known address of the owners informing them that it had been necessary to take safety measures and providing advice on the options open to them. Broadway Parking Review. At a recent meeting of a Town Council Committee, Cllrs expressed their support for the views of those residents and others who had contacted them directly that: o parking permits should not be imposed in any roads in the zone unless absolutely necessary; and o the quality of the consultation was regrettable with evidence of poor communication and typographical errors in the documentation. The Committee backed the views of residents particularly in the outer parts of the proposed zone by offering strong resistance to the imposition of permits in roads where there was currently no parking displacement. Detailed comments will be sent to NEPP. Untidy land behind 228-232 High Road. This is rough land used as a car park, and litter builds up. The Town Council has asked the District Council’s to deal with this; as this has so far not been effective, the Town Council is writing to the District Council, as the local Planning Authority requesting that they serve a formal notice on the land-owner requiring the land to be cleared up and kept clean. Defibrillator. One has now been installed outside the Housing Office in The Broadway and this site has been added to the East of England Ambulance Service’s database. River Roding Planting Project. The Town Council, Environment Agency and District Council are discussing a proposal to undertake tree/vegetation planting on the current scrub/grass areas between the path and the river to help stabilise the banks. Trees are to be sources from the Woodland Trust. Loughton Cricket Club. It appears that it may finally be possible to transfer the land to the Town Council, with the ground then leased by the Club. LRA supports this move as the best way to maintain the Club in the heart of Loughton, and avoid aby possibility of the ground eventually being developed.